Fire
by poloxsaum
Summary: "The first thing that you should know about me, is that my lungs aren't very good at being lungs. Actually, not very good is an understatement, they are in fact terrible. There's nothing that will make me any better, I'm just waiting."
1. Prologue

_A/N: So, this is just a prologue for the story, the chapters will be much longer than this and won't be from Callie's perspective but I just wanted to upload something to see if anyone would be interested in reading this story before I started writing and uploading anything properly. So yeah, drop me a review or whatever to let me know if you're interested and I'll post some more later on.. I got my friend to read this before I uploaded it and they told me that it is similar to the fault in our stars. I haven't read it, so I'm not sure what part she was on about but I'll put a bit in the disclaimer and I hope you guys still like this despite the resemblance. This wont be a crossover with The Fault In Our Stars_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own The Fosters or any of the characters from the show, I am simply borrowing them for a short. All rights to the respected owners and creators. Similar themes to The Fault In Our Stars may occur, however I do not own the book or any of the story lines within the book and am simply borrowing them, all rights to the author._

PROLOUGE

The first thing that you should know about me, is that my lungs aren't very good at being lungs. Actually, not very good is an understatement, they are in fact terrible. And there is nothing that I can do, or anyone else can do to fix them, to make them work to the best of their ability. But I'm not bothered about that, sometimes I forget that they don't work to 100% capacity because I've forgotten what that feels like. What I'm really bothered about isn't the hospital trips, or the oxygen tanks, or the pity looks, because you get used to it. But you can't get used to the idea that today could be the last time you see your family, or that today could be the last time you get to spend arguing with you siblings or that you might never hear your moms laughing again.

This leads onto the second thing you should know about me. There's nothing that will make me any better, I'm just waiting. And that makes it sound like I want it to happen, but I really don't, it's just the truth. I am waiting. There's nothing really else I can use to describe it. I'm not really living. In fact, I'm dying. Just slowly. But people don't like it when you tell them that. Especially my mom's. They hate when I say that, even if it is true, I think they just want to protect me from the truth, even though I know exactly what is happening. I'm grateful, but it is annoying. Because I need to prepare myself for it, and everyone else needs to prepare themselves instead of ignoring it, because it's going to happen. I don't know when, the doctors don't know when. And that is really scary, for me. I'm not sure what it's like for anyone else, for my family or friends, they have to deal with everything afterwards, and I really can't imagine that and I really don't want to be the cause of them hurting.

I guess that's the third thing you should know; I care a lot more about other people and how they are, rather than how I'm doing. Or so according to my mom's anyway. Which is why they enrolled me into some group support sessions. Although, I'm not really sure what it's supposed to do for me, it sure as hell doesn't make me feel any better about. I don't tell that them though, that would make them feel even worse. They already blame themselves for me being sick, which is ridiculous, and I don't want them blaming themselves for me feeling down all the time or for sending me to a support group that doesn't make me feel any better. Sitting around with other sick kids and hearing their stories and then having to share my own is bad enough, but when someone starts coming less and less and then stop turning up at all, it's like a big slap in the face. One day, I won't turn up, and the kids at group will avoid sitting in 'my chair' and they'll just wait, hoping that I'll come back, because they don't want to think that I've died. It's not like close friends with any of them, most of them I'm only on first name basis because we state our name at the beginning, but it's a shock when you realise that could be you. And no one wants that reminder. Because, although I think about it often, it's never the main thought running through my head unless someone else brings it up. It's just a small voice in the back. Maybe because I forced it there, it probably used to be much louder than it is now. Instead of sending me to group, I wish moms would let everyone else stay home from school, and they would take the day off work and we could go out, as a family and spend the day together. Where no one had to worry about anything. Moms didn't have to worry about my oxygen levels or losing their daughter or how everyone is going to cope afterwards. I wish we could have a day where everything was normal, where we argued instead of everyone tiptoeing around me, where we could mess around without someone worrying about me getting out of breath. And I know everyone else wishes that as well, and it makes me mad that I'm the reason we can't be normal.

Moms always say normal is overrated and that our family is stronger because we're not normal. But they wouldn't say that if we weren't made up of two moms, one biological kid from a previous marriage, Latino adopted twins, my adopted brother and me. I'm not adopted yet, there was a slight blip with everything and my biological father is currently being tracked down so that they can get him to sign away his rights. This is probably the fourth thing you should know. But Stef and Lena are still my moms, and this is still my family, even if the state doesn't recognise it yet. And, on a plus side it means that, as I belong to the state, they pay for all my medical bills meaning that Stef and Lena don't have to worry about that. Anyway, back to being a normal family, I don't mean normal as in the typical one mom, one dad family with the average of 1.87 children. More so, normal in the sense that no one has to worry about me dying and no one is sick and I can be in school and no one is constantly asking me how I feel. Because I'm not even sure how I feel anymore, and if I told anyone that they would worry even more than they already are.

And the fifth thing that you should know is that my name is Callie Jacobs. And I am loved so much by my family. You might be wondering why this wasn't the first thing I wrote, but they always say save the best till last. And being loved is the best thing that I could have hoped for. Through everything I know that I am loved and despite anything that happens to me, I will be loved. And that's the best feeling I the world

 _A/N: I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this, it is very different to my usual writing style but I hope you guys like it. I' not sure if I prefer this way of writing or my normal way of writing, but the rest of the fic have a more story line kind of sense and there will be talking and the other characters will be involved, this was just the prologue. I know I already said this earlier on. Anyway, I haven't written anything else for this, aside from some chapters that are coming up later on and I have no idea how long this will be but if you would like me to continue please tell me, because I did enjoy writing this. I'm going to go now, have a great day_


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: First of all, I would like to thank you all for the follows, favourites and reviews, I wasn't expecting this sort of response to the story, and I'm very grateful to everyone who took the time to read the prologue. I did want to address something that Rose wrote in her review about you guys investing your time and stuff and me not updating and not finishing my story. I will finish this story, but I can't guarantee a time that this will completed by and I can't say for definite that updates will be regular and I know that having to wait a long time for update is horrible and I'm really sorry if updates drag or whatever. But there are a lot of things going on at the moment and I'm in college as well which is hard and takes up a lot of time, and yeah I know I'm using excuses but I don't want you guys to think that the updates will be weekly and then let you down. At the moment I'm on summer break so they might be more often but I still have other stuff going on. But yeah, anyway, this is going to be different to the prologue so hopefully its okay and you all still like this._

CHAPTER 1

Callie lay, awake, in bed. It was the morning and everyone was up already getting ready for school and work. Aside from her. She was staring at the ceiling of her and Mariana's room while everyone was rushing round and arguing over the bathroom. She knew Stef, or Lena, or both would be up here soon, making sure she was okay, reminding her that she had her second chemo appointment at 10 and that Lena was taking her after she had dropped of the kids at school. She knew it already, they had reminded her several times yesterday and the day before that, and the day before that. And it wasn't likely at all that she was going to forget about that. After the first round, she hadn't been that bad, the nausea was only slight and she wasn't sick. It had made her tired but that was as expected and she had lost her appetite but it hadn't been bad at all, not compared to what she knew could be the side effects. And she knew that it was only going to get worse.

That was what she was lead there thinking about while Mariana was talking to her. Or at least talking, Callie wasn't sure whether she was talking to her to whether she was just muttering to herself about school or something. Mariana spoke to herself a lot, she just didn't like to admit it and often didn't realise she was doing it. Normally, Callie listened to what Mariana was saying, just because it was funny and she could use it to tease her later on. But she wasn't at the moment. She was thinking, and she was sure that her mind was in overdrive. Normally she was able to just stop thinking and ignore what was going on in her head, but not at the moment, and so Mariana's voice was just background noise. Which is why she didn't really realise when she left the room and Stef and Lena came up a few minutes later.

When Mariana had come down, she found that everyone else was already down their eating breakfast. They all had looked up at her, and then behind her expecting Callie to follow in afterwards but she didn't. Mariana had told them, while pouring herself some orange juice that she was still in bed which had caused a look to be exchanged between Stef and Lena, which didn't go unnoticed by the kids sat around the table.

They made sure that everyone was sorted with something to eat for breakfast and that they knew how long they had until Lena was taking them to school before making their way upstairs to Mariana and Callie's bedroom. They knocked, and when they got no answer the opened the door and peered in. They noticed Callie was awake, she just wasn't doing anything and they were unsure whether she had realised they were even there.

"Callie, sweets, how are you feeling?" Lena asked her, causing Callie to look over at them.

They looked so tired, and that was her fault, they were always up late at night worrying. They didn't think she knew, but she was awake as well and she had heard them talking. She remembered the worry in their voices, the way they were talking as if she wasn't alive anymore. They were worried about her physical health but she had heard them whispering, muttering, arguing, over her mental health. Lena had been worried about how much everything was affecting her and had wanted her to talk to someone, or at least find someone that she could talk to if things got any worse. But Stef had been opposed to the idea. Arguing that she wasn't going to just open up about everything, and they couldn't force her. She had tried to remind Lena how long it had taken her to start opening up to them, and that she hadn't completely yet, that she still didn't talk to them about how she was feeling. And she heard the fear in their voices. And she had felt totally guilty. She had caused them to be this worried, it was her fault that they were up arguing in the middle of the night.

And that's why she had gone back to bed. Because she hadn't really been meant to overhear, that wasn't her intention. She wanted, or rather needed, some comfort, some reassurance, because she was totally terrified. But if they found out they would have been even more worried and they would have been up longer. So she had returned to her own bed and she had lay there for hours listening as their voices got quieter and eventually there was silence, aside from Jesus' snoring. But she couldn't sleep, she was terrified. And now she was worried about everyone else as well. Stef and Lena had done such a good job of hiding how bad they had taken this and she started wondering how everyone else was doing, it couldn't be any easier for them, seeing her like this.

And that's why she decided to tell them she was fine, despite the fact that she was so obviously not fine. Because saying anything else would have caused them to worry. And that's not what she wanted. If she could assure them that she was fine, they wouldn't worry and neither would the other kids and then everything would be okay. She had been through enough by herself already, she could get through this without letting anyone in. So she didn't tell them that she was really tired, because that would have caused more worry, despite the fact that she was sure it was a natural thing for teenagers to feel. Because while everyone else complained about being tired they ignored them but if she did they became concerned about her. And she couldn't blame them, not really, but she was sure that feeling tired was okay. And she didn't tell them that she was terrified, because they were as well and they had enough to worry about without her adding more to the plate. Because even if she did tell them she was terrified, they wouldn't be able to prevent that feeling. There was nothing that they could tell her that was true and would take away this fear. There was no way for them to reassure her that everything was going to be okay and that this would all be over soon and they couldn't tell her that she would be here to see Jude's next birthday or spend another Christmas surrounded by family. Yes, they were able to tell her that they were there for her, and that they loved her and that they would help her through everything. But she already knew that, and she didn't want to waste their time when they already had so much.

Stef and Lena shared a look, they didn't believe her and they wished she would be open about how she was feeling, but they let it pass, they didn't want to push her, they had agreed on that during their late night conversations.

"Are you coming down for breakfast with the others? Or do you want something while Lena's taking them to school?" Stef asked.

They had been undecided on how to go about eating habits. They knew that the chemo would lower her appetite and would cause her nausea and vomiting but they had disagreed as to whether or not they should insist she should eat. Lena hadn't wanted to force her, knowing that even if she ate something it was likely that it would come back up soon. She wanted Callie to eat, and wanted her to come and sit with the others with a plate of food but she didn't want to force her into eating anything. And it wasn't that Stef wanted to force her, it was rather more so the fact that she wanted Callie to have some freedom in all of this. Everything else had been taken away from her, she had no control over anything. And this was something that she would have some control over. And she knew how dangerous that was, she knew how eating disorders were developed, wanting some control, but she knew that Callie knew how important it was for her to eat and she knew that Callie wasn't going to jeopardise her ability to get better. She wanted Callie to eat just as much as Lena wanted her to eat, but forcing her wasn't going to get them anywhere. Neither of them were really sure how to go about anything, they had no experience in this area and it scared them. Everything they seemed to do, no matter how much of a good affect it seemed to have on Callie, there was always a negative side. And they struggled to find things that had more of a positive than a negative.

"I think I'll come down now, I want to see everyone before they go to school," she said.

She wasn't really sure why she agreed, she knew that she would have to eat something to stop questions from the others, but she knew that she would be forced to eat something like she would if she was alone. And she did want to see the others, it hadn't been a total lie. Only because she knew what it was like for the few days after chemo and she knew she wasn't going to be seeing a lot of her siblings. Also, she figured it could cause a distraction from her thoughts for a while, laying here didn't seem very appealing anymore.

"Okay, we made pancakes so you might want to hurry up before Jesus has a chance to eat them all," Stef said with a smile.

Callie could tell it was slightly forced, it was different to how it used to be. Just like Lena's was. Just like their laughs. She smiled as well though, pretending not to notice.

"Oh, and there's been a chance in plan for today, Stef managed to get the day off so once I've taken everyone to school, we'll both be taking you up to the hospital," Lena said.

Callie agreed. She hated that they both took time off work to accompany her to the hospital when she was sure that she was able to just go by herself. It would so much easier for them and she wouldn't be worried about them missing their work. She was sure they needed to go in and couldn't just take days off whenever she needed them to be with her. But Stef and Lena wanted to be there, they thought it would somehow make it easier for Callie, so they could take some of the fear she was feeling, because they could tell she was terrified. They both wanted to hold her hand and try and keep her spirits up and they both wanted to be there afterwards to remind her how well she had done. They both wanted to make sure she felt okay and help her when she didn't, and although they had already decided that they would alternate on who would go with her, neither were ready to not be there, not just yet. And neither minded going, so there really was no problem.

Stef and Lena left and they returned downstairs. The others were still sat down at breakfast, although not eating. In the five minutes that they had been left alone, Mariana and Jesus had somehow ended up in an argument over the syrup and were stood yelling at each other. It was, of course, no longer about the syrup. Stef and Lena rolled their eyes, they had no idea why they couldn't just get along. Jude and Brandon were still sat eating at the table. Brandon was focusing on his music, not paying any attention to the twins, however they had Jude's complete attention, so much so that he had managed to spill syrup on his shirt as he hadn't been paying to eating his pancake.

They were about to interrupt when they heard Callie's voice behind them. She gained everyones attention, even the twins, as they hadn't been expecting to see her this morning. She had brushed her hair, but she was still in her pyjamas.

"Did Jesus eat all the pancakes?" she asked, smiling.

It was so nice to see the others acting normal, that despite what things were doing on with her, in her head, everything else was okay, everyone else was still able to enjoy themselves. And it made her smile, not a forced smile either, but a genuine, relaxed smile. Because the others were okay.

"Not yet," Brandon said. "But you might want to hurry up if you want one."

Callie smiled and sat down next to Jude. Stef and Lena also took their seats and Jesus and Mariana stopped arguing and sat back down as well. And it was just normal. It was as if nothing was wrong, and it made Callie so grateful, because no one was acting strange around her, and no one was asking how they were doing. It was like it had been before. She took a pancake, and after she had covered it in syrup, she began eating. And she could feel Stef and Lena looking at her, and when she looked up to ask why she found them smiling. They were happy that she was eating, that she had joined them at the table and she had willingly chosen to eat a pancake and she had willingly chosen to put syrup on it. And Callie didn't know how she felt about that. Because everything was normal, but it was also completely different. Everything was just wrong.

She looked down at her pyjamas and regretted not getting changed, because it reinforced that she was sick and she wasn't able to go into school today, and probably not tomorrow either. And that she didn't realise how much she would miss just fitting in, because she never really had. She had been the one who was in foster care and juvie, and she didn't mind. But now that she was even more of an outcast and she didn't want to be. Right now she would do anything to just blend in, because she hated this. She hated it so much. Everyone was trying so hard to make everything normal that it was so far from normal, and despite all their efforts to appear relaxed, it wasn't like it used to be. She only ate half of her pancake before excusing herself from the table.

She didn't even get to the bottom of the stairs before Lena called her back. Reminding her about something else that made everything not normal.

"Callie, don't forget your meds."

She hated that word. And she hated having to take them. And she hated being reminded. She hated this whole thing and it just wasn't fair. But nothing in life was, in her life anyway. And she didn't understand it, but she didn't complain. Because she learnt a long time ago that complaining got you nowhere. So she turned around and walked back into the kitchen. She took down the box that held all the medication in and sighed. Her name was on so many of these. She didn't even know which ones she needed. The doctor had explained it so many times to her, and Stef and Lena had told her, but she couldn't remember and there was so many. And then she was crying.

She didn't know why, everything was just so overwhelming. So she just stood there. Looking into the box and crying. And she heard everyone eating behind her and talking and it was like she wasn't a part of that anymore. It had taken long enough for her to be comfortable with the Fosters and now she was back outside of their family unit and that made her cry even more. Because this stupid, stupid disease was ruining everything and she didn't know how to fix it.

And she was still stood there, just looking down and the tears were running off her face and she was furious. At everything. And at nothing. Because there was nothing to be furious at. There was no physical thing she could put her anger on. And she could feel this rage building up inside and then the box was on the floor and she was in the garden.

She sat down on the grass and she was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't notice Stef coming to sit down next to her. And until she was sat next to her, Callie thought she was alone. She turned to look at Stef, who was frowning at her. She looked so concerned, and Callie was enveloped in guilt.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, we're just worried about you. Everyone gets overwhelmed, and no one blames you for it. It's okay to be worried and angry and upset and you're allowed to feel whatever it is you're feeling, but it's not okay for you to keep it in. We want you to talk to us so that we can help and so we know what you're feeling. It's scary when you don't tell us what's going on because we get so worried about you. And I know how hard it is for you to trust us and I know how hard you try, but trust me when I tell you that we aren't going to be cross when you come to us and that we don't mind when you talk to us no matter when or what it's about," Stef told her.

While talking, Stef had placed one arm around Callie's shoulder. She didn't know whether Callie would welcome a hug and even though her heart was telling her to comfort the girl by pulling her close, she thought it best to let Callie initiate a hug and this way it would be easier for her to do so and she could still bring the girl some form of comfort.

"I just don't want to bother you," Callie said.

"You're not going to be bothering us by coming to talk to us. If it takes time for you to come to us, that's fine, but know that you aren't bothering us. That's what we're here for. Whatever you are worried about or upset about or scared about, we want to help you. We love you Callie girl."

Callie smiled slightly and leant into Stef. Her arms were wrapped around her and Stef wrapped her arms around Callie.

"Thank you Stef," she said.

The two sat like that for a while until Stef felt Callie shiver. It was early and she was only in her pyjamas, which Stef seemed to have forgotten while they were sat outside.

"Let's go back in, the others will be leaving soon and you need to get dressed," Stef said standing up brushing off her trousers.

Callie stood up as well and Stef followed her inside. The table was cleared from breakfast, as was the floor where she had pushed the box off the side. And Lena was yelling up the stairs. And Jude was worrying about his top. And Mariana was complaining about the rain because she had straightened her hair. And Jesus was trying to find his wrestling gear. And Brandon was stood waiting.

And it was just right.

 _A/N: So yeah, not sure about this, hopefully you guys like it. I'll reply to all the reviews later on. Thanks for reading. I have no idea if the A/N at the top makes any sense. Any mistakes are mine. Still don't own the Fosters._


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: I was wondering how you all feel about the long chapters, like would you rather them be shorter and I miss out some of the descriptive stuff and just get to the point or do you like them long? I guess if they were shorter updates could be more frequent. Anyway, thanks for the favourites/follows/reviews._

 _To the guest reviewer who said about including how they found out about her being sick, I am on the fence about including that. Originally, I wasn't going to because it wasn't really what I wanted to wrote about, but I could feed in some flashbacks if some of you are interested. So, if you would like to read about how they found out Callie was sick, leave a review to tell me, and if you don't want to read about it, leave a review and tell me._

 _I'm not really sure about this chapter, especially the middle bit and I did get kinda stuck on it which is why it took so long, so sorry about that, but I hope its okay._

CHAPTER 2

Lena sat in her office at work staring at the computer screen. Yesterday at the hospital with Callie had gone well and, although she hated that her daughter was there, she was glad that both she and Stef were able to go with her. They had decided that Callie would attend an outpatient clinic which didn't specialise in children. Even though Callie was young enough to go to somewhere that was specifically for children, she hadn't wanted to and Stef and Lena were silently glad. They couldn't imagine seeing young children in the same position as Callie. However, when they were at the clinic they could see the pity looks in the eyes of the other patients. And she and Stef had tried to ignore it, but they could tell what they were thinking. That she was too young to be here, that she didn't deserve this. But neither did they, no one deserved this. And Lena really couldn't understand why Callie was sick. Had she not been through enough already, did she not deserve to be happy. It made Lena so angry.

Callie was at home today, as was Stef who was looking after her. She was having a hard time after chemo today and they were both worried about her. They knew it was going to be bad, they just didn't imagine it getting bad so quickly. They had been hoping that she would have it easy, the doctor had listed some rare side effects which they wanted to avoid and he had also stated that not everyone had a strong response to it. They wanted things with Callie to go as smoothly as possible. It would be so much easier on her, and she would be able to stay into school for longer, which is what she wanted. Which is why, against Lena's recommendation, they had decided not to inform Monte yet, Callie had wanted to wait until it was totally necessary for anyone to know and they didn't want to force her to talk about it either. But Lena was going to bring it up, Callie couldn't get away with staying at home all the time just because she was the vice principle, and Lena was worried about Callie. She hated that she couldn't be in school every day and it made her so stressed when she couldn't some in and all she wanted to do was catch up. And Lena knew that when Callie came into school she was tired and she couldn't focus. Her teachers had come to her, not because they were worried about Callie, but because they thought she wasn't paying attention just because she didn't want to. And that made Lena cross and it took so much control for her not to tell them that she was really sick and that she wanted to be here. They didn't understand.

Lena was drawn from her thoughts by Monte, who was stood in front of her desk. She looked concerned. And Lena couldn't blame her. She was always doing work, and was always smiling when she was at work. And here she was sat here looking completely stressed and doing no work. She looked shattered, and she had only just noticed it that morning. She hadn't slept well last night, she and Stef had been up with Callie when they had heard her in the bathroom vomiting and 1am. Stef had tried to force her back to bed because she had to go into work in the morning but she wasn't going to leave them sat on the bathroom floor all night while she slept. And even if she had gone to bed, sleep wasn't going to come easily at all.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Lena asked Monte.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

That's not what Monte asked originally, but now she was worried. Lena wasn't acting like herself, she could tell something was wrong with her and her family and she wished that Lena would talk to her about everything so that she could help. She wanted to help, as she and Lena were friends and she hated seeing her friend like this.

"Yeah, I'm just tired, but everything's fine," she found herself saying.

And she wanted to tell her everything, but she couldn't. And that, she reasoned, was how Callie felt when she told them that she was okay. And that broke her heart. Because she wanted her daughter to tell her everything that was wrong and not feel like she had to hide it from them.

"Okay. Is Callie alright? I noticed she was away again today and Jude hasn't been focusing in his classes all day," Monte asked.

"Callie's sick, Jude's just worried about her," Lena explained, hoping that would be enough.

"She's sick again?" Monte asked.

"We thought she was better, but it turns out that she wasn't. Stef's at home with her today, but she should be back in a couple of days," Lena told her.

She hoped that Monte wouldn't ask what was wrong with her, she had no idea what she could tell her, and seeing as she had been sick for longer than a week it would probably have been something that they would have needed to take her to see the doctor for.

Monte just nodded. She wanted to believe Lena, but she felt like there was something that she wasn't telling her.

"And I'll talk to Jude during lunch, just to make sure he's okay," Lena told her.

There was no doubt that at least one of the kids would come to her during their day needed some reassurance. They had all come to see her last week when Callie had been home to check if everything was okay, to make sure nothing had happened while they had been at school. Yesterday, and last week, when they had all been at the hospital, both her and Stef had got numerous texts from all the kids as had Callie. Lena knew how worried they all were about Callie and she didn't blame them, she was terrified and Stef was terrified.

Monte nodded, before leaving Lena's office and entering her own. When she had gone, Lena picked up the phone. Talking about Callie and how worried the other kids were made her realise how worried she was and how she wasn't going to be able to focus until she had heard from Stef. They had been texting that morning, and Stef had told her before she left for work that she would call her if anything happened but she hadn't heard anything for a while and it made her worry increase. She knew, logically, that Stef would defiantly call her if something happened, that she would find time and she would make sure Lena was informed but she was worried that if something had happened, Stef would be too busy worrying and talking to doctors to call her. So she called Stef instead.

She used the office phone to call her mobile, as she wasn't sure if they were at home and that would just waste time. It rang three times and Lena was getting more and more worried as she didn't pick up. Then, just as the fourth ring began, Stef picked up. Before Stef could greet her wife, Lena was already asking questions, not even giving time for Stef to answer any of them.

"Are you alright? Has something happened? Is Callie okay? Are you at the hospital?"

"Lena, calm down, nothing has happened, we're at home," Stef interrupted, knowing that her wife would get worked up quickly if she didn't start talking.

"Oh, and Callie is okay?" she asked.

"Yes, she's asleep at the moment. I wanted her to go to bed but she convinced me she was okay so she's on the couch."

"Is that why you're whispering?"

"Yeah, she's exhausted and I don't want to wake her."

"Oh, has she eaten?"

"Not much, but we managed to keep it down. Although, those anti-nausea pills aren't really doing their job."

"We'll have to talk to her doctor, there's no way she can keep this up. It's so hard on her" Lena said.

"We can talk to them next week or if it gets any worse before then I'll give them a call to see if we can set up an appointment to talk about it. How are the others?"

"I haven't seen them yet today, but no doubt that some of them will be along in a bit while on their lunch break to see how Callie is doing. And Monte has informed me that Jude hasn't been paying attention in any of his lessons today, not that I can blame him, I haven't been able to pay attention to my work either. But I do really think we should tell Monte about Callie."

"Callie wanted to tell Monte herself, she made us promise we wouldn't say anything. I don't think Callie is ready to talk about it yet, especially to someone who isn't part of the family."

"I know we promised, but there is no way she is going to be able to come into school every day like everything is alright and she can't keep missing school, without a reason. We can't keep telling her teachers that she's sick and there's no way she's going to be able to keep up with the work when she can hardly stay awake in class."

"I know love, but I think we should talk to Callie about it first, at least give her the option to tell Monte herself. If we tell Monte will she have to stay at home all the time, or can she come in for a few days a week and then have the work sent home? I think that's what she's worried about, having to retake the year."

"She won't have to leave, and even if Monte thought it best for her not to attend school, it really isn't up to her, it's up to us and to Callie to decide if and when, she should stay home permanently. But even if she did, I'm sure the others and myself could bring the work home so that she is still able to do it. And having to retake the year isn't the worse thing, in comparison to everything else that could happen, I just want her to get better and I don't think worrying about school work is going to help."

"We can discuss it tonight with Callie, if she's up to it and then we will all be able to talk things through with Monte so we have a better idea of everything. I know you're worried, I am as well, but Callie has so much more control over her school work than she does anything else, she can't control whether she's going to get better or not and she is terrified. At least when she's at school its some sort of distraction. And I think she is worried that if she has to retake the year she'll be letting us down. Brandon and Callie are both set to graduate next year and then go off to college, if she has to retake this year then it'll just be Brandon who's graduating, I think it would be different if it were only her who would be graduating but this way it's like a comparison. As if she feels we would be comparing her to Brandon because he graduated and she didn't. And it would be a comparison for her as well."

"You're right, I hadn't looked at it like that. I wish there was a way that we could show her it doesn't matter. Brandon's and hers circumstances are so different, there is no way we could consider comparing them. I don't know how we're going to get through to her, but we need to make sure that she understands so she doesn't start pushing herself."

Lena sighed. She really hated this. But she was glad that it had happened while Callie was with them. She couldn't imagine how different things would be if they hadn't bought her into their house and instead let her be taken to a group home. She didn't want to imagine how much harder everything would have been for Callie.

"We'll find a way, we always do," Stef reassured her, although, she didn't feel very confident in her abilities at the moment either. She was about to continue talking when Lena spoke.

"I have a visitor, I'm going to have to go. You'll call me if anything happens?" Lena asked.

"Of course I will, I love you."

"I love you too, always."

And then she hung up. And she smiled through the door way where she could see Connor's face looking in. She motioned to him and he opened the door wearily, as if he was scared about what he was going to ask her.

"Is everything okay?" Lena asked. She could tell something was wrong, and she had an idea what it was. Possibly something to do with his dad, or no doubt, something to do with Jude, after all they did have the same classes that morning and he probably noticed something was off with him.

"Is everything okay with Jude?" he asked hesitantly.

Lena had no idea what she was to tell Connor. She was so glad that Jude had found someone who was so worried about him when he wasn't acting himself, but she knew Callie didn't want anyone to know, and she was sure Jude would have told him if he was comfortable with Connor knowing what was going on with his sister. But he hadn't, which meant that Jude respected what Callie wanted and she was going to as well.

"He's fine, I think he's just worried about Callie. She's ill today," she explained.

It was what they had all agreed to tell anyone who asked, teachers and students, because it wasn't a lie and it was a reasonable excuse without giving away exact details of the real problem.

"Oh, okay. He's been acting weird for a while now though," Connor explained.

Lena had expected this, even at home, he stuck to Callie like glue at the moment, it was as if they had gone back to when they had first arrived and they were inseparable. Neither were acting like themselves and it was a reminder that everything was different. It had changed the whole dynamic of their family.

"I think he just needs a friend, I'm glad he has you Connor, and I know he is as well," Lena told him.

Connor smiled and nodded before leaving the office to go and find Jude so that they could sit and eat lunch together. Jude had taken a while to pack up his things after class while Connor had rushed out to talk to Lena before he ate his lunch.

Lena sat for a few minutes before there was a knock at the door. She had been expecting it, after all lunch had started 10 minutes ago. The door creaked open and Lena smiled when she saw Jude. He came every day, even when Callie was in school for an update and to check that Callie really was okay. Because Callie didn't tell him the truth as to not worry him, she had been protecting him for so long she didn't want him to see or to know how bad things were. But he wasn't stupid and he wasn't blind, and he had taken it upon himself to protect Callie as best he could like she had shown him to do while they were growing up in the system.

"Is Callie okay? Have you spoken to Stef?" he asked quickly.

He hadn't even entered the room properly yet and he was already asking questions. Lena stopped him from asking more, so he wouldn't get flustered, much like Stef and done for her when she had been on the phone.

"Callie is fine, I was on the phone to Stef 10 minutes ago and she said Callie was sleeping," Lena explained.

Jude nodded and Lena carried on. "How are you?"

Jude shrugged, it didn't really matter how he was, he wasn't the one who was ill. "I'm okay, I just want Callie to be okay, to be like she used to. I'm worried about her."

Lena knew what he meant, but they had all changed since Callie had become ill. Her mind flashed back to yesterday when Callie, Stef and she were at the clinic. She and Stef were talking quietly but Callie was sat in silence. They had found that she hated it there, and that didn't surprise them, and so she stayed quiet and had her walls built up so that when she got home she wouldn't have to rely on Stef and Lena and she would be weak. But this week was different. There was another patient there who was younger than then others, he wasn't as young as Callie but he didn't look at her with pity, in fact he just smiled at her. And for the whole time he was there he smiled at everyone, and it was refreshing to see someone who didn't look so sad, it wasn't like he was constantly reminding them that this was a bad thing. He joked with the nurses and with the other boy who had accompanied him. And Callie had been so interested, and she couldn't stop watching him, to see if his smile would falter, to see if she could see any hint of pity when he looked at her. And then Callie had said something that neither Stef nor Lena were expecting. She told them that she wanted to be happy again and that she wanted to know how, because she missed it. And she told them she wanted them to be happy as well. Because she knew why they held back their laughs, they just didn't know that she knew. And they felt so guilty when she told them that. Because Callie wanted things to be normal, and they all know how different it would be but they knew that they could work on making it as normal as possible.

Lena looked at Jude. He had taken a seat and put his bag on the floor and he looked so sad. And it broke Lena's heart when one of her kids looked like that, because she was supposed to help them and she knew she couldn't at the moment.

"We all want Callie to be happy, we all want her to smile like she used to, but I don't think any of us are like we used to be and we have to find a way to make sure that we are doing the right thing. Because I miss Jesus' jokes and your laugh and the way Mairana giggles and Brandon smirks. And I miss the way Stef's eyes light up when she can't stop smiling. We are worried about Callie, but that doesn't mean we aren't worried about the rest of you. Just because one kid is sick it doesn't mean we forget about the others. Everything is changing and it would be weird if we didn't change as well. Sometimes it's just hard to find your place in the change and at the moment I think we're all struggling. And that's not a bad thing, because we will find it and things will be okay because we have each other," Lena said softly.

She wished everything would go back to the way it was and she wished she could make Callie better and she wished she had the power to make everyone happy again, because it was like a black cloud had settled over her family and there was nothing she could do about it and she hated that. But she knew that they would find their way out from under the cloud and they would help each other find their own places. Because something like this changed everyone, because it affected them all. But they had people who cared about them and who would help them when they couldn't do things themselves and Lena knew they would be okay.

Because they had to be.

 _A/N: This is for the guest who was talking about me plagiarizing. First of all, your review was pretty pointless as it didn't actually tell me whether or not you like my story, so, do you? Because if you don't I doubt you're even reading this, again proving how pointless your review was. Secondly, I'm not exactly sure what you were expecting me to do about what you said, because I haven't read it and I'm not going to say that I have just because you've told me that I'm pretending I've read it. I also already put in a disclaimer about it and have already been told it's like the book, so again, what you told me was pointless. But thank you for taking the time out of your day to type that. Thirdly, and finally, I am wondering what bit you are on about. Probably something from the first chapter, because my friend didn't say anything about the second chapter being like the book. And I was also wondering what you would like me to do about it, because I'm not about to change my whole story because one line is the same as something written in a book. I just want to know what you hoped the outcome would be while you typed your review or whether you were simply trying to call me out as a liar. Anyway, I hope you have a nice day and I also hope that you answer my questions and will let me know whether you are in fact enjoying my story or not._


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: So those of you who commented in your reviews about including or not including how the found out Callie was sick all said you wanted to read it so I am working on a place to put it. Normally I don't write with a plan, and this one isn't much different aside a small plan I have and that wasn't originally on there. However, I am working on changing some things around so that there is a place to include it which will hopefully be what you were hoping for when you said you wanted it. I'm not sure when it's going to come up yet, it could be the potential next chapter or it could be later on depending how this chapter goes._

 _Also, I just wanted to inform you all that I am back at college and I'm not sure how that's going to affect my updates, but I promise you that I will finish this story. The only thing that is going to stop me is if I die or something. Thank you for all the reviews and follows/favourites and to anyone who is just reading this. This chapter occurs on the same day of the previous one, in case it isn't clear throughout the chapter, I hope you all enjoy it._

CHAPTER 3

That night, after dinner, and once all the dishes had been done and the kids had been sent upstairs to do their homework, Stef and Lena were finally able to talk to Callie about talking to Monte about what was going on with her. They had planned, earlier on in the day to have a conversation once Lena was back from work. However, that didn't go to plan as Callie had slept until dinner and they hadn't wanted to wake her to talk about something that could wait until later on.

Callie was sat on the sofa with a text book on her lap. Work had been sent home with Lena by her teachers for her to complete and Callie was trying to make sure that she caught up with everything that she had missed so that she wouldn't have to retake the year. So, although all she wanted to do was sleep she was instead trying to read her chemistry text book but she was finding it hard to focus and she kept rereading parts. It was like nothing was going in. As soon as she read something, it went from her head and she had to read it again, which was pointless because it left her again. Which is why she welcomed the distraction from her work.

Stef and Lena sat on either side of her and she knew that they wanted to talk about something important. She hated these conversations, they always ended up with them telling her bad news. This was the way they had told her she was sick, the way they told her that Donald wasn't her father and the way they told her that she wasn't going to be adopted. She was used to bad news by now but she didn't know how much more she could take of it anymore.

"We have been talking and we think that it would be a good idea if we told Monte what's going on," Lena started.

They saw the look of worry that was on Callie's face when they sat down so they had wanted to tell her what they were thinking straight away, not drag it out. However, they thought she would be relieved that it wasn't something big that she had to worry about but the look was still there.

"You will still be able to go to school when you feel up to it, but this way the teachers would understand and you would be able to get extensions on deadlines. They would be able to make exceptions for you, and we know that's not what you want, but this way you might still be able to get through the year. If your teachers knew what was going on they might be able to give you extra tuition if you felt up to it and we also think that it would put less stress on you," Stef explained.

Callie nodded. She knew that she was going to have to tell them, but she had hoped that it wouldn't be so soon. She had hoped that because Lena was the vice principle she would be able to pull strings and Callie would be able to get away with having time off school without teachers asking what was wrong. She didn't know what was going to happen if they told Monte. She knew Stef had told her that they couldn't make her leave, but she didn't know whether Stef meant it or whether she was just saying that to reassure her. She looked up at Stef and Lena.

"I won't have to leave school?" she asked.

"No, it's up to us and you if you leave school and when that would happen. You could stay at home and we could bring the work home so that's its done here or you can leave school and wait until you get better. We can work something out with Monte, something that you are comfortable with and that will work out around your treatment," Lena reassured her.

Callie nodded, believing what that were telling.

"I don't want to have to retake the year, I want to graduate on time with everyone else next year," Callie told them.

She needed to really. She needed to make sure she wasn't going to stick out any more than she already did and she had to make sure that this wasn't going to hold her back. She had jumped over hurdles before and she was willing to keep going if it meant she was able to get through high school. She had passed other grades when her home life had been terrible, where she was being beaten and starved and she wasn't going to let this stop her. She needed to make sure she didn't have to retake the year because then Stef and Lena might not want her anymore. They might not want someone who could pass the year. There was already so much they had to deal with and that might be the final straw for them. And she loved living with them and she loved them. Not that she had told them yet. But the thought of being taken away was terrifying. She couldn't let that happen.

"We can try and make that happen, but don't push yourself too much, we want you to get better and pushing yourself isn't going to help. Just because you don't graduate next year, that doesn't mean we will love you any less," Stef told her.

Lena nodded in agreement. They both knew that they needed to get this through to her, that it didn't matter what happened regarded school at the moment. They only wanted her to get better and they knew that if they didn't tell her this, she would push herself so hard and instead of focusing on making sure she was getting enough sleep and eating she would be focusing on passing her classes and completing the work.

"I can tell her tomorrow," Callie told them.

She wasn't sure whether she would be going by herself or whether Stef and Lena would be coming with her. She wanted them there with her, but she didn't want to ask them, she didn't want to appear weak to them, as if she had to rely on them for something as simple as talking to the principle.

"We'll come with you Callie, you won't have to go and talk to her alone. You don't have to do this alone," Lena said, placing a hand over Callie's.

She hoped Callie understood what she was saying. She wasn't just talking about telling Monte, she was talking about everything that she was going to face. She was telling Callie that she and Stef would be there for everything, to help her through everything despite anything. She hoped Callie understood that it didn't matter what happened, they still loved her.

"Lena's right, nothing will make us turn our backs on you Callie," Stef reiterated.

Callie smiled at them. "Thank you," she muttered quietly.

The three then returned to silence with the TV on quietly in the background. Callie had returned to reading her text book while Stef and Lena were watching the TV. They kept the volume low as to not disturb Callie from her work however they both noticed that she wasn't able to focus on it very well. They heard her sigh heavily a few times and she had been reading the same page for several minutes so Stef took the book from her lap and placed it on the table. Callie looked up at her, annoyed that Stef had stopped her from catching up with her work but also relieved because she was getting annoyed with herself that she wasn't able to focus on her work.

"That's enough for tonight, you can carry on tomorrow, but for now you can sit here and watch TV with us for a while," Stef told her.

Callie nodded and leant back on the sofa relaxing slightly. Her attention turned to the TV, although she had no idea what they were watching. However she wasn't really focusing on it, instead she was letting her thoughts run away with her. Eventually Callie fell asleep on the couch and Stef and Lena let her rest until she needed to be woken to go to bed.

Later on that night, once all the kids were in bed, Stef and Lena were sat in bed. Stef was catching up with some paperwork that she had to do while she was away from work while Lena was reading. She hadn't had a chance to read in a while and so was glad to have some quiet time to be able to do so. Stef, on the other hand, was not glad that she had some time to complete her paperwork, especially when all she wanted to do was go to sleep. Although, that was easier said than done at the moment.

But she was done for this evening, so once she finished writing she placed all the sheets of paper on the floor by her side of the bed. She knew she would regret that the next time she got up when she would have forgot they were there and would trip over them and would then have to sort them all out so they were back in order. However, having that knowledge didn't mean she was going to get up and put them somewhere that they would be out of the way.

Lena, who had heard the loud thump of papers hitting their bedroom floor looked over at Stef as she reached to turn off the light on her bedside table and lay down on her side. She closed her book and put it on her bedside table before turning off the light that was placed on there as well. If she were telling the truth, she had been waiting for Stef to finish so that they could lay together, so she could gain some comfort from being close to her wife. She hadn't been paying attention to her book and if asked she wouldn't be able to tell you anything that had happened over the pages she had read that evening.

She moved over to Stef's side of the bed so she could wrap her arm around her and so Stef was able to comfortably fit against her body. Stef was normally the big spoon, however sometimes Lena took that role and they both enjoyed the swap and neither minded it, just so long as they were getting comfort from the other.

"How are you?" Lena asked, running her hand through Stef's hair.

They never really had a chance to talk during the day about how they were coping with everything while they were making sure Callie was okay and reassuring everyone that it would all be fine and so they had turned to late night conversations.

During the period of time when they had learnt that Callie was sick, they didn't talk about how they were doing, they spoke about the kids and about the decisions and how nothing was fair. They didn't talk about how they were doing because neither of them thought that it would affect them as much as it had. They didn't realise how hard it would be and how much they would need each other and how open they would have to be about how they were coping.

They hadn't realised until they had both had emotional meltdowns in private and it had come to light to them both that the other would also be feeling like they were. And Lena, knowing Stef wouldn't be as open at first, had spoken to Stef. About how she wasn't coping and how worried she was and how she was so scared because this was something she couldn't control. And then she had been crying. And so had Stef. So she waited until they had both stopped to talk. And she had promised Lena that she would be there and she would be open and she had reassured Lena that she was feeling the same. And they had both cried again. And they had promised that they would talk every day. Because they figured that taking things one day at a time was a good way to get through this. Instead of worrying about the future they focused purely on today. And they had found that there relationship had grown stronger because of these conversations. So they had continued them, although they often went in a similar way.

"This is going to be happening every week. I don't think I processed that Callie is going to be having chemo every week and one of us is going to have to stay home with her every week and she is going to be having these horrible side effects every week. And next month she is still going to be sick. And the month after that. I'm not sure why I hadn't processed that. Maybe I was ignoring it on an unconscious level, but today made me realise that she is going to have to go through this every week. We are going to have to watch her suffer and we aren't going to be able to do anything."

Stef was whispering and it wasn't just because it was the middle of the night and the kids were sleeping. Stef whispered while she was trying not to cry. Lena had learnt that early on in their relationship. She kissed Stef lightly a few times before she spoke.

"I know, I worry about that all the time, but we have to focus on now, about getting through one day at a time. Because thinking about what might happen isn't going to change it, it's just going to make us feel afraid and worried. Callie is still here and although we don't know what's going to happen, we know her and we know she isn't going to give up. She's going to fight this with everything she has," Lena stopped.

She kissed Stef a few more times and wiped away the tears that were on her face before she spoke again. "I'm terrified as well. But we have each other."

They lay in silence for a few minutes when Stef spoke. It surprised Lena as she had thought that she had fallen asleep.

"I love you so much. I'm the luckiest woman alive," she said.

Lena was about to reply when they heard someone walking about. They both moved so that they were able to see the door from where they were lead, expecting someone to walk in. Their kids didn't often get up in the night unless something was worrying and they were coming to talk to them about it. However, no one came in and no one knocked on their bedroom door.

They assumed that whoever it was had gone back to bed and so they returned to the positions they were laying in before they moved. Then, when they were both almost asleep, they heard the toilet flush but nothing else. They didn't hear the tap running or someone making their way back to their room.

"I'll go," Stef said.

She knew that Lena would have to get up in the morning to go to work, and while she also had to get up in the morning, she didn't have to go to work as she was staying home with Callie again. It was much easier for her to miss work than it was for Lena and although they had agreed to take turns, they hadn't discussed anything with their bosses yet and so nothing had been arranged for them having time off.

Stef pulled the cover off of herself and left the comforting arms of her wife to go out and out what was wrong with whoever was still in the bathroom. She walked down the hall way to their kid's bathroom and knocked lightly on the door.

Both she and Lena knew who it was most likely to be, but the moan that came from the other side of the door surprised Stef. It didn't sound at all like Callie and so Stef was wondering if she had been correct with her assumption. She opened the door and found Callie sat on the floor by the toilet even though the light hadn't been turned on.

He face was incredibly pale and, although she seemed to be covered in sweat, she was shivering hard. Stef rushed over to Callie's side, not bothering to turn on the light.

"Oh sweets," she murmured, running her hand through her hair.

Callie, who had originally been learning against the bath was now leaning in towards Stef, who was much more comfortable. Her eyes closed, and although she was still shivering, she was gaining a small amount of comfort from Stef, not only from being close to her but from the words Stef continued to whisper to her.

Stef wanted to get up so she could get a drink of water and a blanket as she wasn't sure how long they would be there and she didn't want Callie to get any colder as she could feel her shivering against her side. However, she didn't want to leave Callie so they stayed sat on the floor. Stef didn't know how much time had passed, however they heard footsteps after a while that belonged to Lena. When Stef hadn't come back to bed and she hadn't heard any movement she had gotten worried so had made her way to the bathroom to see if everything was alright.

Once she saw Callie shivering on the floor, she went back to her and Stef's bedroom to grab the blanket that they kept on their bed to place over her before she went downstairs to grab a glass of water, knowing it was important that Callie kept drinking while she was sick.

Lena then sat on the floor with Stef and Callie once she returned with the glass of water. The blanket was big enough for all three of them to fit under, so Stef placed it comfortably over them all. Stef wanted Lena to go back to bed, she had seen how tired she was yesterday and she knew that spending hours up during the night wouldn't help with that. But she couldn't, because she knew how much Lena wanted to be there. And she knew that even if Lena went to bed, she wouldn't have been able to sleep due to the worry she felt as well as the fact that Stef wouldn't be there with her. Neither were able to sleep well when they were apart from each other.

The silence they were sat in was suddenly disturbed when Callie moved quickly to lean over the toilet. Her hair was tied up, but some of it had come out while she had been asleep so Stef held it all back while Callie was being sick. Once she had finished, Stef moved to flush the toilet while Lena handed Callie a drink.

She took a sip of water before handing the glass back to Lena and then spoke.

"You can go back to bed," she muttered, leaning back and closing her eyes.

Stef and Lena shared a look, they both knew they had a long way to go until Callie would be able to come to them and feel comfortable asking them for comfort but they hadn't realised that she would be so unwilling to have them there when there was something wrong with her.

Neither knew whether she wasn't allowing them in because she was testing them, seeing whether they would get bored of her not talking to them about things and eventually just stop asking or whether because she was still unsure if they were going to be there and she was trying to keep them at distance. They thought they had been making progress, but when news came to them that she wouldn't be able to be adopted alongside Jude, she had returned to the girl she had been months ago.

But they were determined to get her to open up to them and talk, not matter how long it took. They would continue to tell her that they would be there for her until she believed them. They weren't going to give up on her just because she pushed them, and they wanted that to get through to her, they wanted her to understand it.

"We aren't going to leave you sat on the bathroom floor by yourself," Lena told her.

"You guys need your sleep," Callie muttered.

She was shattered, but she knew that if she went to bed she would be back into the bathroom minutes later so she would much rather stay sat in here until she felt better. However, that didn't mean that Stef and Lena had to sit up with her all night while she was sick.

"Sleep isn't as important as being here for you Callie," Stef assured her, sitting back down on the floor next to both Lena and Callie.

Lena had pulled the blanket back over them all and they snuggled up closer. And that was how they stayed all night. And Callie was grateful, because she had wanted them to stay with her, she just didn't know how to ask and she didn't know if they would even want to sit with her all night.

She wasn't sure if they meant what they said when they told her that they would be there, and it was hard to open up to them, but it was becoming increasingly harder for her to leave them shut out as she continued getting sicker. But she knew they were here for good now, it was becoming clearer that they weren't going to dump her like she had been before.

And that felt good. Knowing she had someone to trust. Knowing she had someone who would be there for her. Who she could rely on.

Because she knew that she as going to need it.

 _A/N: Sorry this took so long and sorry that not much really happened during this chapter either. It was kinda boring to write, but hopefully it wasn't as boring to read, I'm sorry if it was. Hopefully the next chapters will be more interesting. Please continue to let me know your thoughts. Thank you! Also, not sure if I mention this or whether it was made obvious, but to clear it up, this won't be Brallie_


	5. Chapter 4

_A/N: So, everyone who mentioned it in there review were glad that Callie was started to open up, however I did get a PM from someone who thought that Callie was opening up to quickly so, I just wanted to clarify something before I carry on. There are a lot of issues that Callie has to work through so it won't be as simple as Callie now being able to open up as if there has never been any issues. She will start trusting them more but it won't be straight away. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews, I really enjoy reading them so please keep them coming. Also, sorry if there are any mistakes, I didn't proof read due to pure laziness._

CHAPTER 4

Despite the fact that Callie had hardly slept that night, she still was willing to go into school so she could talk to Monte. Stef and Lena would much rather her stay at home until she was feeling better but Callie was adamant that she wanted to do it today.

That meant that there morning arrangements had to change, with Brandon driving everyone to school in Lena's car while Stef and Lena were going in later on with Callie in Stef's car. Once they had spoken to Monte, Stef was taking Callie home while Lena stayed at work until the school day was over.

Stef and Lena, despite being in the bathroom and nowhere near their alarm, still managed to wake up with time for them to cook breakfast before everyone needed to leave for school. When they woke up, they also woke up Callie and helped her to her room where she would be able to sleep for a little bit longer as she didn't have to leave as early as the others. They then woke everyone else up and reminded them to be quiet as Callie was sleeping before making their way downstairs to make breakfast together.

While cooking, they didn't hear any arguments about the shower or how long anyone was taking in the bathroom and Stef wondered if anyone was actually up or if they had all gone back to sleep the minute her and Lena had come downstairs. She told Lena she was just going to check to make sure everyone was up and getting ready for school before she walked up the stairs. As she did so, she found everyone up and getting ready, just at a much quieter level than they used to.

It made Stef realise how much they had all grown up over the past couple of weeks, how much they had all had to grow up. And Stef was sad that she hadn't realised it before now. She had been so focused on Callie and making sure she was alright and making sure everyone else was thinking about Callie and what was best for Callie. She and Lena, although checked that everything was okay, hadn't really thought about how everything was going to affect them, they had been so focused on Callie that it hadn't occurred to them that the others would have been affected so much. She assumed that if they were having a hard time, they would come to them. And sometimes they did. Jude would come to talk to them about what was going to happen and Mariana would tell them how worried she was and Jesus would shrug, not really okay but not willing to talk to about it. Aside from Brandon, who was always telling them that he was fine, they had all spoken to them about something.

But this was different, it was almost natural for them to start acting more mature and Stef wasn't sure if they even realised they were doing it. And although Stef was grateful that they were taking Callie into consideration, she didn't expect them to be mature all the time and she knew it was important that they still got a chance to do something fun and act the age they were, rather than the age they felt they should be to deal with this. She made a mental note to talk to Lena about something they could do together as a family before returning downstairs.

The rest of the morning went without a glitch and everyone set off with enough time to get to school without being late. Lena went to Callie and Mariana's room while Stef got dressed. She knew that Callie would still be asleep and she hated that she had to wake her. But Callie had wanted her to, she had wanted to go today to talk to Monte, despite her not feeling great, which meant that someone would have to wake her at some point because it was likely she would sleep through most of the day.

Stef and Lena had reasoned that going in the morning would mean they could come home and Callie could spend the rest of the day in bed and it was also less likely that any of the other students would see her, which they knew she wanted. So, Lena knew it had to be done. But looking down at her sleeping she looked so peaceful and calm, knowing how much she needed the sleep after she was up all night long along with it being one of the large, common side effects of her chemo to be tired afterwards, made it almost unable for her to wake her.

It was the simple fact that she knew they had to go that made her bend down next to Callie's bed and place her hand on Callie's back. She spoke quietly, hoping that it would mean Callie was woken up better than if she went about waking her in a loud manner. It took a while, but eventually, Callie was awake and, although slightly groggy and annoyed that she had to been woken up instead of allowed to carry on sleeping, once she realised that she had been woken because she was going to the meeting with her principle, she was thankful that Lena had woken her.

Stef had managed to get dressed and make Callie something to eat and bought it upstairs so Callie was able to stay in bed while eating instead of having to get up. Callie tried to tell them that she wasn't hungry, however they told her that she had to eat something and Stef placed the food down. It was only a slice of plain toast and a glass of milk, but the thought of eating made her stomach flip slightly.

But she knew that Stef and Lena were right when they told her she had to eat something, especially after she had lost everything she had eaten yesterday during last night. So she drank some of the milk and she had a couple bites of her toast. And she didn't complain that Stef and Lena sat on the end of her bed watching her. And she didn't put up a fight about this meeting that she really didn't want to go to.

Because she had already put Stef and Lena through enough without her complaining to them about something that she had to do anyway. They had already helped her enough and were worried enough without her arguing about them making sure she ate. And she knew they weren't doing it to annoy her, they just cared a lot and to Callie that felt really good, because no one had really cared about her like Stef and Lena had in a long time. And they might decide that they didn't want her anymore and that she was too much work if she put up any arguments now. And, despite what they said about her still being their daughter even though she wasn't adopted, she wasn't really, and they could change their mind about wanted to foster her at any time and she could be put straight back into the system. So she was trying to make it easier on them. Before now, she wasn't sick, and she knew how much harder it was to look after someone who was sick.

Once she had eaten and Stef and Lena had stopped trying to get her to eat anymore, realising that it wasn't going to happen, Callie got dressed in a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans and went downstairs. She found Stef and Lena doing the dishes and she felt instantly bad as she knew it was her turn to be doing them this week.

"I'll finish the dishes," she told them stood in the doorway.

Neither Lena nor Stef had realised she was stood watching them and jumped slightly when they heard her voice.

"Don't worry about it, we're almost done. And we're going to be leaving in a minute anyway. Are you ready to go?" Stef asked, turning around with a dish in her hand, drying it.

"Are you sure? It my week to do the dishes," Callie informed them.

"Of course I'm sure, you can do chores when you feel better," Stef told her.

Callie resisted the urge to mutter out the word if. If she felt better. If she got better. They didn't even know if the chemo was going to work or what would happen afterwards if it didn't and it was all bound to get worse before it got better. She appreciated the optimism from them, but sometimes it got too much, as if they were trying to protect her from the truth. Or maybe they were just trying to protect themselves. Callie had no idea what it was like for them to have a daughter who was sick, and she was surprised that neither of them had broken down crying yet, but perhaps they were telling themselves that she would be okay so they didn't break down. She knew that they knew she might not, but she wasn't sure if they had truly accepted it. She wasn't sure if she had either, if it had really sunk in, after all she hadn't been upset over the thought of never getting better, she hadn't even been upset about being ill, and she didn't really know if one day everything would suddenly sink in and she would start crying and not be able to stop.

"Okay, I'll go put on some shoes," she told them, then turned to go and find some shoes.

Once she had left the room and gone upstairs, Lena and Stef shared a look. They were making progress with Callie but they didn't feel as if Callie trusted them that much or realised that they didn't blame her for getting sick or that they didn't mind if she couldn't do her chores. They weren't sure how they were going to get her to understand that, they just hoped that she would realise before she got really sick. They finished doing the dishes and made their way to the front door where Callie was waiting for them.

The car ride to the school was pretty silent, aside from Lena and Stef trying to make small talk with each other and trying to get Callie to join in so she wasn't busy worrying about the meeting, however Callie gave them short answers, or nothing at all, instead pretending to be much more interested in her phone. She thought she would be okay, and that she would be able to do this without feeling nervous. But she could feel the nerves building, and once they pulled up in the car park, Callie didn't really want to get out of the car.

But she didn't want Stef and Lena to think she couldn't do this, so she got out the car and walked behind them to Montes office. Lena had called to say that she had to talk to Monte, but she hadn't given a specific time so they had to wait a while before she was free to talk. That made Callie even more nervous. And she wasn't really sure why. She could probably get away with not saying anything or even paying attention to what they discussed. Perhaps it was because this would make it more real, it would start affecting her life properly now, and she didn't know if Monte would allow her to stay at school.

Her doctor had told her that at some point she wouldn't be able to go, either because she was too ill or because her immune system was so weak it wasn't safe for her to be around so many people every day where she could easily get ill, and everything would be a lot more severe for her compared to other people who weren't having chemicals pumped into their bodies. But that wasn't yet, and she hoped Monte would be able to see that she was okay for now and that she was still able to come in and do the work. And she hoped that this would somehow put Stef and Lena's minds a little bit to rest about her pushing herself every day to make up for her school work.

Stef saw Callie picking at the seat out of the corner of her eye. She could tell she was nervous, and she was surprised that she was showing it, when she first came into their house she didn't show nerves or how scared she was, but the way she acted told them that she was nervous and scared. Now she wasn't pushing them or being rude, she was just nervous and it was nice to see how much she had progressed since she first arrived. How much more comfortable she was around them.

Stef placed her hand over Callie's and gave it a light squeeze, hoping she was able to pass some support by the touch, or let her know that this would go okay and that she wasn't alone. Callie looked up and offered Stef a small smile, hoping she would be able to tell her that she was okay. She knew it wouldn't work, she knew that Stef and Lena were able to read how she was feeling much easier than they used to, but that didn't stop her trying. She was just glad that Stef hadn't told her, again, that it would be okay. She was able to interpret her action as one of support, rather than one that told her things would be okay. Because they might not be, and she wanted to scream that at them whenever they tried to tell her that.

Monte arrived shortly after that and apologised for keeping them waiting. Callie tell she was surprised that she was there as well and assumed that Lena hadn't told her what this was about. Her stomach was doing flips while they followed Monte into her office, and she regretted eating any of the breakfast Stef and Lena had bought up to her that morning.

Stef and Lena did most of the talking while she sat looking down at her lap. She didn't know why, but she felt embarrassed, and they thought of Monte looking at her like everyone did when they found out she was sick, with so much pity in their eyes, prevented her from doing so, because she didn't want their pity and she didn't want them worrying about her, because it wasn't their job and it made her feel bad because she had made them worry.

Listening to Stef and Lena explain the situation was hard, because, even without looking at them, she could tell that they were trying so hard not to cry. She could tell that they were trying to avoid the word, they had all been trying to do so since they found out what was wrong, but she wasn't sure how they were doing to tell Monte what was wrong without them actually saying it. And they didn't either. They hadn't planned out what they were going to say, and nothing they were saying really made much sense or followed on from what they had previously said, they couldn't finish their sentences and they hadn't really told Monte anything.

That was why Callie decided to speak, because it was unfair that they had to explain her situation and feel so uncomfortable and unprepared for this, because they didn't deserve that. She should have told them that she would go by herself and she would talk to Monte and that she would sort it out. She was sat between the two, so took their hands to grab their attention and when they looked over to her, she nodded and smiled. They had both stopped talking, confused with what Callie was trying to tell them, so in that moment she took the chance to speak to Monte. She had no idea what she was going to say, but at least she was taking that away from Lena and Stef.

"I don't know what Lena told you about why I have been missing lots of school and why I haven't been catching up on my work, but, uhh, I'm sick," Callie said, without looking at Monte.

She knew that didn't really explain much, she was sure that Lena had already told her that she was ill, which was why she had been excused from missing school these past two weeks. It only then occurred to her that she hadn't been the one to explain to anyone that she was ill, and that she didn't really know how to go about this, Stef and Lena had told the others as well as their own parents, while she had completely avoided talking about it. Perhaps talking about it was a good way for her to get used to the idea, to actually accept that she was ill.

"I have bronchogenic carcinoma, more specifically a type of adenocarcinomas, which is called, uhh," she paused, trying to think of what it was called. The doctor had explained it a few times, and she had been working on remembering it all but some of it was really hard for her to remember how to say, and before now she didn't have a need to remember how to say it because she hadn't had to explain what was wrong to anyone.

However, Stef and Lena had both done research on what type of cancer Callie had and they both knew what it was so were able to fill in where Callie didn't know how to explain.

"It's called bronchioloalveolar carcinoma," they said at the same time.

Monte had no idea what any of that meant, so Stef and Lena took to explaining it, which they found much easier now that Callie had started for them. They still tried to avoid saying that Callie had cancer, but they eventually had to, which resulted in some tears. After that, Callie stopped listening to what they were saying. They had started discussing what was going to happen and how the school could help, and Callie really wasn't interested in that. Stef and Lena could tell her later, as they had with other things that they had discussed with doctors when Callie hadn't really been paying attention there either.

She was focusing on trying not to be sick. She hadn't felt well since they had arrived, and it had only been getting worse as she sat here. She was hoping that she would be able to not throw up until they got home. She didn't want to interrupt the conversation that was going on between Stef, Lena and Monte and she hoped that they would be finished soon, and she really didn't want to throw up at school, she would have no control over who might see her and that was something she didn't want anyone else to know about.

Stef, who was listening to Lena and Monte discuss school, was getting slightly bored. She didn't really understand how it worked, and she was glad that her wife worked at the school so knew what Monte was talking about. It was much easier for her to stop listening to what they were talking about now, rather than if she had to pay attention. She also knew, that if there were any questions or concerns they could ask Monte and Lena would be seeing her every day, so decided that it didn't really matter that much if she stopped paying attention and instead looked around the office.

She tried not to make it to obvious that she wasn't paying attention, so didn't turn around to look at anything and didn't stand, as she didn't want them to think that she didn't care about anything that was going on or what was going to happen, because that wasn't the case. She did care, it was just that she would much rather get Callie home so she could rest and she didn't know what they were talking about when they were discussing different parts of the subject courses that Callie would miss if she left school now and how hard it would be for her to catch up with them. She looked down at Callie, who had remained silent through the meeting aside from when she spoke earlier to Monte and noticed that she didn't look great. She hadn't looked well when they had left that morning, but she had put that down to nerves and Callie had assured them that she was fine.

However, now it was different, she was pale and she looked as if she was sweating as her forehead reflected the lights that were on the ceiling above them. She also had her eyes shut tightly, as if she was trying to block out the light or get rid of a headache. Stef moved from the chair she as sat in so that she was knelt in front of Callie on the floor. The movement gained both Lena and Monte's attention and worry set in both of them.

Lena turned herself so that she was facing Callie rather than Monte and placed her hand on the girl's forehead. She was hot to touch but she was shivering slightly.

"Callie, what's wrong, do you feel sick?" Stef asked, making sure she kept her voice down.

If Callie did have a headache, her shouting and being loud was just going to make it worse, and she really didn't want to do that now. Callie wanted to mutter out an "I'm fine," however that seemed like a lot of effort and that made her change her mind about what to tell them, so she nodded her head. Although, that made her head pound so she stopped.

Stef looked up at Lena hoping she understood what she was trying to tell her. Luckily they had perfected their ability to communicate without actually talking, so Lena was easy able to understand what Stef was trying to ask her. She knew how Stef felt about these situations so it was easy to try and understand what she was trying to ask her, and she knew Monte so it wouldn't be awkward for her either, they could easily continue this conversation over email or when Lena was working one day.

"Sorry to cut the meeting short Monte, but we need to get Callie home. We can continue this another day, perhaps, I should be in tomorrow," Lena said, not wanting to make any promises about her ability to come into work.

If they had to take Callie into the hospital during the night or she got any worse she would probably stay home to look after her along with Stef. She knew Monte would understand, but she didn't want to make any empty promises.

"It's no trouble, can I do anything to help?" Monte asked, a little overwhelmed by the whole situation.

She had gotten to know the two women and how much they cared for their children. She didn't exactly understand how they were able to care and love a child who wasn't biologically theirs as much as they claimed to, but she saw it in them while they were all in that office. She had seen the fear and worry and concern like she would expect with any other parent who was talking about their ill child. She had no idea how they managed to both have full time jobs as well as look after 5 teenagers, one who was sick, but she admired it.

"Could you fetch a glass of water?" Stef asked her from where she was positioned on the floor.

She knew Callie was unlikely to drink any of it, but she knew that Lena would try and tempt her. Monte left the office and made her way into the staffroom which was right next door to get a glass of water and when she returned Stef was nowhere to be seen and Lena had taken her place on the floor in front of Callie. She handed the glass of water to Lena, who answered the question that hadn't even graced her lips yet.

"Stef went to bring the car out front, so Callie doesn't have to go very far," Lena told her, never taken her eyes off Callie.

Monte nodded and returned to her chair, not really knowing what to do with herself. She wanted to offer some sort of help but she really had no idea what she could do or even if they would want her to help them. She didn't know if she should offer some words of comfort or remain quiet. She could hear Lena whispering softy to Callie, who hadn't opened her eyes of replied to anything yet and Monte couldn't begin to imagine how this must be for all of them. She made a mental note to talk to the teachers of all their children, just to make sure they were all aware of what was going on and to ensure that the children wouldn't get into too much trouble if they didn't complete their homework on time or they missed a couple days off school.

Stef came back into the office, and Callie, who had heard their discussion about Stef moving the car stood so she would be able to walk. She wobbled slightly, which she hoped went unnoticed by Stef and Lena, however she wasn't so lucky.

"Callie, I'm going to carry you to the car, there is no way you can walk all that way," Stef said.

Callie who was about to make a comment about Stef's inability to lift her was surprised when she felt herself being picked up off the ground. She felt ridiculous but it was much better than having to walk all that way and despite herself, she leaned into Stef.

They all left the office with a small bye from Monte, who was still shocked about what had happened and got Callie in the car. Stef wanted to drive quickly so that Callie was able to get home and to bed as soon as possible, but from the groan from the back seat as she began driving, she drove slowly the whole way.

She ignored the words yelled at her and the car horns that were honked at her all the way to the drive way. Because she didn't care about anyone else. Because she wanted to do what was best for her daughter. And she hoped that seeing Callie had persuaded Monte to not allow her back to school, because at the moment she was sure that would make Callie worse rather than better.

 _A/N: So, I didn't want to include the whole conversation with monte, as I felt that would be kind of boring to both write and read, I just put in parts that I haven't already talked about and wouldn't give anything that might happen later on away. And I know that I didn't include anything on how they found out Callie was sick, like I said I might do in this chapter, but I promise that I will later on, I'm still trying to figure out where I should write it in and whether I should do it as a flash back or as a conversation between someone. Also, it feels as if I haven't updated this in forever, for which I am sorry about, but hopefully this is okay. Please leave a review and let me know if you're enjoying this, because I do kind of feel this is boring at the moment, although it should get a lot more interesting and there will be more mentions of the rest of the family, rather than just Callie, Stef and Lena soon. But I think this chapter was pretty crap, it didn't really go how I wanted it to and I just feel like it dragged on forever. Thanks! Also, if anyone wants to know about any of the stuff I wrote about to do with the cancer, I'll explain here, it's pretty sciencey and I'm not sure if it is 100% correct, I'm not a doctor:_

 _Bronchogenic carcinoma is just science talk for lung cancer. This is classified into two types; small cell lung cancers (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). I've written it so that Callie has NSCLC, which is most common and has three main types which are; large cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, adenocarcinomas. Adenocarcinomas is the most common and is seen in non-smokers. They arise in the outer areas of the lungs and can spread to the lymph nodes and beyond._ _Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a subtype of this which frequently develops at multiple sites in the lungs and spreads along the pre-existing alveolar walls._


	6. AN

_A/N_

 _This is not a chapter, just a little A/N. I haven't forgotten about this fic, I have simple not had time this year to write anymore or to update. However, this year should be a lot calmer and I am really looking forward to writing some more of this fic. I am aware that I haven't updated in a really long time I am really sorry about that, but over the next few weeks and months I am going to start writing this again and then update it when I have a few chapters done. I just wanted to make sure that people are still interested in this story and where it's going to go. If you could leave me a review or a PM letting me know, I would be very grateful. Sorry again, and thank you for keeping interest in this story._


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